This invention relates to a method for producing double labels, in which two labels of unequal size, which are detachably applied by adhesive surfaces to a respective carrier, are put together and adhered to one another. The invention further relates to a device for producing double labels, comprising at least two feed devices for supplying at least one label each to a respective carrier and at least one dispensing device for detaching the labels from the carriers and for putting the labels together and adhering them to one another. The invention likewise relates to a double label produced in accordance with the previously mentioned method, preferably by means of the previously mentioned device, the double label comprising two labels of unequal size, each having an adhesive surface, with the free portion of the adhesive surface of the one label protruding past the other label.
Methods, devices and double labels of the type given above are already known from the prior art. For example, a method for producing self-adhesive double labels is described in German published patent application DE-OS 2 063 483, in which an upper label detachably affixed to a carrier tape is applied to a lower label of equal or smaller size, with the lower label likewise being detachably affixed to a carrier tape. The double label produced in this manner can then be attached to an object, or for the time being it can remain on the carrier tape of the lower label for further use. In the known method the upper and lower labels are detachably applied to a respective carrier tape which is rolled up on an unwinding device so that the labels lie on the inside and which is drawn from the unwinding device by a respective winding device. The upper labels in this case are guided over a deflection edge and brought into position for being dispensed, so that the upper labels can be adhered to the lower labels which are guided along immediately below the deflecting edge and which remain on the carrier tape for the time being.
DE-OS 2 063 483 further discloses a device for producing self-adhesive double labels, comprising an unwinding and a winding device for the lower label carrier tape, as well as an additional unwinding device and an additional winding device for the upper label carrier tape. The device further has two deflection edges, the first of which is provided to detach the upper labels from the carrier tape and the second of which is provided to detach the finished double labels from the carrier tape. The two deflection edges here are arranged one following the other in the feed direction of the carrier tapes.
Finally, self-adhesive double labels have also become known from the prior art according to DE-OS 2 063 483, which labels comprise an upper label and a lower label, the upper label adhering by its adhesive layer to the upper side of the lower label. The upper label here can be provided with an adhesive layer merely within the area of a peripheral strip. Furthermore, the upper label can be designed to be larger than the lower label, so that it partly protrudes past the same. The protruding free portion of the upper label, however, has no adhesive layer, since the upper label in this embodiment is provided with an adhesive layer only within the area of a peripheral strip. Instead, the upper label here is glued to the base label by means of an easily separable adhesive layer, so that the upper label can be easily removed if necessary. The free portion herein facilitates the removal of the upper label. In the known double label, only the adhesive surface of the lower label is used to apply the labels to the objects to be labeled. Thus, the double label according to the prior art has the disadvantage that although it can be securely affixed to the objects to be labeled, there is no secure and inseparable bond between the upper and the lower labels. Furthermore, even though the double label does permit a wide variety of optical effects, it is not so well suited for quality items such as jewelry and cosmetics, since the entire adhesive surface of the lower label adheres to the goods. This is viewed as being unsightly and impractical.
Furthermore, German utility model application DE 297 00 468 U1 discloses a label in which a sticker is adhered to a planar carrier. The sticker herein has a first field on which, for example, the price of the goods to be marked can be printed, and a larger second field, both of which fields have a self-adhesive back. After the sticker is removed from a protective foil the first field is folded along a boundary line between the first and the second fields, and it is stuck by its back onto the back of the second field. The sticker is then adhered to the carrier with the remaining self-adhesive surface of the back of the second field. The printed first field herein remains visible through a window in the carrier. However, this known label can only be fully assembled manually and in a relatively complicated manner, for which reason it cannot be produced in a cost-effective and simple process.